Luc Van Lierde (born 14 April 1969 in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

) is a former

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, who has been competing in

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...

since 1990 and who has been a professional triathlon coach since 2009.

Athletic career

Van Lierde's international career started in 1990 when he came fourth in the World Olympic Distance Triathlon Championships. In the full-length Ironman triathlon, which involves

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

3.8 km,

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

180 km and

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

a 42.2 km marathon, he was ranked among the first ten in the European Championships three times between 1990 and 1995. 1995 was a decisive year for Luc Van Lierde, when he took second place at the ITU World Championships, and came second in the European Olympic Distance Triathlon Championships. In 1996 he won the European Championships and came second in the World Championships in the Olympic Distance Triathlon. He won the Nice Triathlon and became World Long Course Triathlon Champion. Luc Van Lierde became the first

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

ever to win the

Ironman World Championship The Ironman World Championship has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978, with an additional race in 1982. It is owned and organized by the World Triathlon Corporation. It is the annual culmination of a series of Ironman triathlon qualification ...

, beating the existing record by three minutes. Luc Van Lierde went on to clock the fastest Ironman Triathlon ever in 1997, doing 7:50:27 (0:44, 4:28, 2:36, plus transition) in Ironman Europe. Absent from the Ironman 1998, after undergoing an operation, he nevertheless won the

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

Sports Personality of the Year trophy. In 1999, he once again won the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, outrunning the second placed competitor by six minutes. During that same year, he received the Giant of Flanders trophy awarded by the two Flanders section of the Association of Professional Journalists.

Triathlon coach

In 2009, after more than 20 years as a professional triathlete, Van Lierde began a career as a triathlon coach.

Frederik Van Lierde Frederik Van Lierde (born 25 May 1979) is a Belgian professional triathlete and 2013 Ironman triathlon world champion. Van Lierde has been coached for two years by two-time Ironman champion and former world record holder Luc Van Lierde, to w ...

(not related) approached Van Lierde with the request to coach him. One year later he managed to coach Frederik Van Lierde to a third place at the 2012 Ironman World Championship. In 2013, he coached Frederik to the 2013 Ironman World Championship. Van Lierde has successfully coached several other professional athletes, including Marino Vanhoenacker,

Iván Raña Iván Raña Fuentes (born 10 June 1979) is a Spanish triathlete and the winner of three medals in the World Triathlon Championships between the years of 2002-2004. He also has won three medals at the European League Triathlon as well, between ...

, Will Clarke, Michelle Vesterby, and Saleta Castro.

Notable achievements

* 1995: Silver medal at the World Championships * 1996: European Champion * 1996: Silver medal at the World Championships in the Quarter Triathlon * 1996: Silver medal at the World Championships * 1996: Winner Ironman World Championship (new record) * 1997: World Record for Ironman event (7:50:27) * 1998: Gold medal at the Long Distance World Championship in Sado Island * 1999: Winner Ironman World Championship * 2000: Winner St. Croix Triathlon (2k/55k/12k) * 2003: Winner Ironman Malaysia * 2004: Winner Ironman Malaysia * 2007: 2nd Ironman Lanzarote * 2007: 8th Ironman Hawaii 8:30

External links

Personal websiteLuc Van Lierde ITU Profile Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Lierde, Luc Belgian male triathletes Ironman world champions 1969 births Living people Sportspeople from Bruges Triathlon coaches